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Monday, June 14, 2010

Spice!

Just a quick post tonight. Something that's been bugging Mr Cake and I for awhile is our spice storage. A few years back I did have a spice rack, but it was pretty gross and old and I got it secondhand with most of the spices. No wonder I didn't use it often - they probably all tasted of sawdust. Anyway, we use a fair bit of spice in our cooking (and baking) and for the last 6 months have just had a container full of those ratty little cardboard boxes from the supermarket. We kinda knew what we wanted to do but couldn't find the necessary apparatus anywhere. Until last weekend (in Hamilton), that is.

Now, our spices are resplendantly perching on the front of the freezer. And if we get sick of them there we can attach them to the rangehood. Or anything else metal we feel like. Yes, we got magnetic spice jars. I'm really pleased with them - the magnets are nice and strong - no risk of falling off when we open and close the freezer - and you can either twist the lid to get sprinkle/pour holes or take the lid off and spoon it out (much easier to measure from than boxes!). And it looks pretty!

(in case you're wondering, although we are now getting better at recognising spices by their visual characteristics only I have labelled the underside of the jars, just so we don't accidentally use cumin instead of nutmeg or something)

(sorry about the blurry photo, still using my phone as the camera is still with the repair people)

I love the look of magnetic spice jars but I worry that they're exposed to the light... that's what's always stopped me from getting them! But my spice shelf is quite full, need to come up with a solution soon.

They are so styly and sensible. Our spices are still mostly in supermarket boxes. My favourite gadget is our new can opener. Our old one was supposed to be ok quality but got harder and harder to open cans. So I went to TFE (the best shop in Dunedin) and got a way awesome can opener that works so well and splits the lid so no sharp edges. Perhaps the novelty will wear off soon, but the functionality will life on.

fingersandtoes - my understanding is that sunlight is much worse than artificial light, and our kitchen never gets direct sunlight (in fact if I am baking in the middle of the day I need the light on because it's so far away from the window) so I don't think that'll be a problem for us. It would depend where you keep them, though!

Eric - having watched my almost-2-year-old cousin having a ball of a time with his fridge magnets at Queens Birthday weekend I can see you have a good point there.

Sylvia - I'm sure you could put something inside the lids to block the light if you wanted (or do what we were thinking we'd have to do to get our magnetic jars - glue your own magnets onto jars of your choice)

ebethsha - the can opener sounds cool - I might have to hit you up for more info on that since ours is on its last legs now too. It's not like Mum's one which claims to make no sharp edges but that she cut her finger on showing me? ;-)

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All About Mrs Cake

Hi! I'm Rosa, a.k.a. Mrs Cake, and I live in Wellington, New Zealand. I love food in all its forms, my fabulous family, and a bit of good old-fashioned Kiwi DIY. This blog started around food but has evolved to include some other bits and pieces - I hope you'll join me for the journey! See more